Category Archives: travel

Where have I been? Most of my energy these days goes to Nutrinic and some writing for publications, including Today’s Dietitian. Did you see my article on counseling vegan clients?

Also, I recently spoke at the excellent International Congress on Vegetarian Nutrition (here’s a nice summary, I’m quoted) at Loma Linda University, my 4th time attending. When an event is only every 5 years that makes you feel old! I was invited to speak for the first time, which was an incredible honor. It also reminded me to share my upcoming talks.

Most of these are part of larger events therefore have a cost associated (sorry!). If you can’t make any, please pass them on to potentially interested parties. The power of sharing events with your friends and colleagues cannot be understated. Nor can my appreciation for helping out.

14 April | Los Angeles, CA

The Los Angeles District (LAD) of the California Academy of Nutrition and Dietetics presents, One Size Does Not Fit All: Promoting Diverse Perspectives in Dietetics. I’ll be presenting, “The Case for Plant-Based.” The sports talk before me focuses on protein, presumably animal protein, so I’m guessing this might be a bit of a debate? I’m looking forward to it! It’s at Children’s Hospital on Sunset Blvd, meaning I can walk there from my apartment, which is the best.

Not sure what exactly this will entail, beyond a sports nutrition talk, but I’m teaming up with Joel from Strong Hearts Cafe, the force behind the Strong Hearts Vegan Power running team. Mid-90’s bands from Syracuse were a huge influence on my adoption of veganism, and I haven’t been back in two decades, so I’m really looking forward to this. Most likely free or very low-cost.

07 May | Tarzana, CA (this is postponed, stay tuned for the new day and time)

The 5th annual Plant-based Prevention Of Disease national conference returns to Raleigh and it’s going to be the best conference yet. As you probably know I’m a board member and put a lot of work into making this conference evidence-based and affordable. It’s truly a one-of-a-kind event. If you haven’t been, join us this year! There’s even walkable campus housing so no need for a rental car. We save you money every step of the way! I’m giving the opening address on why, now more than ever, we need to focus on plant foods in healthcare.

15 Sept | Modesto, CA

This isn’t finalized yet, but if you are an early planner, I’m working with the Sutter Health Memorial Medical Center to give the main presentation at this year’s Harvest of Hope. I’ll be tying in local farming with nutrition and the benefits of eating plant foods, and without powerpoint! This will put my story telling to the test, which is an exciting challenge. At least I have time to prepare. Will share details when I have them.

Are you part of an organization that puts on events or needs speakers? Let them know I’m available. That’s the most common way I get invited, so please don’t underestimate the power of your suggestion.

I have a very exciting couple of weeks with talks at the Portland Vegfest this Fri, Sat and Sun (yes, 3 talks!) and then I travel across the pond to visit Glasgow and the Scotland Vegfest. I’ll be speaking there Sat and Sun, December 5th and 6th.

Any recommendations in either of those cities? Do you plan on going? Be sure to say hi!

This Thursday I return to the difficult-to-spell state of Massachusetts to give a talk on vegan sports nutrition in Boston. It’s in collaboration with the Boston Veg Society and the Strong Hearts Vegan Power running team before they take on the Cape Cod Ragnar Relay! There’s a $15 vegan buffet option at the host restaurant, Walnut Grille. Please RSVP here for the dinner. The talk is free! There will also be a Q&A panel with some of the runners on the team. It’s a great opportunity to learn more about vegan nutrition- especially for curious friends who want to know how to eat plant-based and stay active. Can you still get enough protein? You sure can! Come learn how.

For those of you in the Northeast enduring the harsh winter, I’d like to invite you to this talk I’m giving at UMass Amherst next week. I’m honored to be a guest of the UMass Nutrition Association, Kinesiology Club, Students in Graduate Nutrition and the Department of Nutrition. The topic will be my work with plant-based athletes and my experience in alternative career paths for dietitians. It will be fun and there will be snacks! This event is free and open to the public. More details below and on the facebook event page. Special thanks to Eliza Beth Mellion who has done a huge amount of leg work to make this happen.

Be sure to follow me on twitter and instagram for photos of snow and cold and to see how 13.5 years of living in Southern California has made me soft!

Austin, Texas is a great place. I was there on the No Meat Athlete book tour where we did an event at the Beard Bros factory and presented to the Whole Foods corporate office. And it happens to be one the first place I flew to on my own (with a friend) as a tiny, teenage BMXer. Austin, like where I grew up, is huge for BMX and an older friend / local hero had moved so we went to check it out and get away from the harsh Pennsylvania winter and ride our bikes.

Two Events This Week

Both are a combination cacao book signing and a talk about staying active while maintaining a plant-based diet. These are laid back events and I love answering questions so if you have friends in Austin please send them along!

Going Back in May!

And I’ll be there in May for the awesome Vida Vegan Con blogger conference. I can’t wait. Strongest Hearts will be there and both Sasha and I are speaking!! And it just so happens the wonderful organizers will be in Austin this week and made this terrific map of vegan spots: Austin Vegan Food! And you can probably count on seeing food photos on my Instagram and the VVC Instagram. I know I can’t wait to eat some Tex-Mex.

I’ve a few other events already scheduled for 2015 that will get their own post, but you can peep them at my events page. Thanks for reading and I hope to see you at an event!

Why cacao? Last year the No Meat Athlete book publisher asked if I was interested in writing a book in their series, Superfoods for Life. Super foods? Not necessarily my cup of tea. But when they said cacao, I said maybe. Then I spoke with DIY chef and friend Joshua Ploeg– who absolutely loves using ingredients in unique ways- and it was set. We’d do it. Yeah, I can’t believe it either!

There’s a lot of research on cacao, chocolate and the phytochemicals they contain. I used over 60 peer-reviewed studies to write this book and discuss the role these compounds have on everything from type-2 diabetes and heart disease to dementia and athletic performance. This paper in the journal Nutrients is an example of what’s out there. It’s a very exciting direction of research.

Yes, I’ve seen the video about superfoods and science. I agree! In the book I write about the beneficial components of everyday plant foods; you don’t need to eat exotic berries, mushroom extracts or antioxidant pills to be healthy. Cacao does have especially high amounts of phytochemicals, but one ingredient, no matter what it is, doesn’t determine your health.

Share this post or information about the book with your friends and social media contacts. If you know me- you know I don’t do a lot of self-promotion. But I’m very proud of this work and I want more people to be exposed to solid science and fun recipes. I’m all about expanding people’s experiences through food and this book definitely does that.

Come to an event! Keep your eye on my website and social media for announcements about book signings, talks and other events around the country. I’m currently planning events in Oakland, Santa Rosa, Boulder, Ashville, Atlanta, Chicago and Bethlehem; to name a few for 2014.

If you have a website and discuss food, veganism, cacao or any related topics please get in touch if you’d like to write about the book, share a recipe, do an interview with Joshua or I, etc. I’m happy to supply you with what you need.

Check out the work of the Food Empowerment Project. There are issues around the production of cacao and if you are buying chocolate, you should make yourself familiar with them. I write about this in the appendix of the book and I’m also donating 10% of my royalties to them because I love what they do.

As always, I appreciate my readers and everyone who has supported my endeavors. Thanks for reading!

We make these videos to show the various ways veganism can work. We don’t preach one style of eating or body shame; we want plant-based eating and fitness to be accessible to the most people. Showing the interesting stories of athletes in a professional way has never been done. We believe activism and education can be positive, fun AND make a difference. It’s a lot of work to make these and both Sasha and I have invested a lot of time, energy and our own money into this project. So we are seriously indebted to the people who believe in us and have supported us financially!